I'm once again off-topic, since this post doesn't have a lot to do with food. But skin cancer is a real concern for cyclists, given how much time we spend in the sun. I happen to be a cancer survivor, having had a melanoma removed six and a half years ago, so this is a subject near and dear to me.
After my experience I looked high and low for anything suggesting any means of reducing the likelihood of a recurrence. For a time I bought sunblock clothing and special sunblock that left me pasty-looking, I even bought sunblock dye and dyed all of my regular clothing. Despite searching high and low there didn't seem to be much else that I could do. Things have changed a bit since then.
First off, hiding from the sun is probably the worst thing you can do, though avoiding sun burns is still essential. My feeling, based upon reading a few years back, is that it is best if you can start tanning early in the season and let your natural melanin protect you, with a light sunblock as extra protection when you anticipate long exposure on high UV days. To learn more about how sunlight and adequate levels of Vitamin D is thought to help prevent melanoma see this page on Dr. Mercola's website.
Second, cut back on sugar so that it is a condiment to flavor meals, rather than consumption of sugar for sugar's sake (i.e., cakes, candy bars, soda pop, etc). Sugar is implicated in all kinds of inflammatory processes, so there's no sense in adding extra fuel to cancer's fire. If you are going to eat sugar (and I do) it's probably best to have it with your meal, than as a between meal snack.
Third, Curcumin (found in Turmeric and Curry) has generated a lot of excitement for what appears to be its ability to block a pathway for the development of melanoma, as well as other cancers and degenerative diseases. For more on that, see this Science Daily article. Turmeric is available in supplement form. I take a couple of capsules per day for it's anti-inflammatory effect and for the possibility that it may keep future melanomas at bay.
This article tells why the highest paid model in the wold does not wear sunscreen. It also has a chart with the highest and lowest rates of melanoma. It shows how people furthest from the equator, where sun is the weakest, get the most melanoma and people that are closest to the equator get the lowest amount of melanoma and tells about why they are motivated to tell you sunlight causes melanoma.
ReplyDeletehttp://bit.ly/sun-scream